Endogamy, religious activities and political affiliations are, however,
subordinated to one major constitutive practice of Sindhiness—doing business. Falzon stated that the Sindhi community is "synonymous with business" and for Jakartan Sindhis business is certainly the main identity marker. A Sindhi is brought up with the idea that business is what defines life and to be a real Sindhi one needs to be in
business. Business is not just about earning one's living. Making money is as much a social and cultural as it is an economic practice. By and large business defines all aspects of Sindhi life and relationships within and outside the community. In Falzon's apt words, Sindhis "see themselves and are seen as a business community that has perfected the practice of moneymaking to a fine art. Among Sindhis, wealth and business acumen are seen as the key elements of a person's worth" (Falzon 2004:189).
In 2013 the majority of Sindhi males in Jakarta were private entrepreneurs. Moreover, as often happens, the stereotype about Indians in Jakarta largely corresponds
47 "Komunitas Keturunan India Dukung Fauzi–Nara," Berita Jakarta, last modified 29 June,
2014, http://www.beritajakarta.com/2008/id/berita_detail.asp?nNewsId=49664 (last accessed 13 May, 2014).
to reality: most Sindhis are in textile export-import business. With economic and political change in the second half of the century (discussed in chapter One), many Sindhis diversified and expanded their businesses in the textile trade by going into textile manufacturing and tailoring. Quite a few left the traditional niche entirely and tested themselves in new businesses like banking, media distribution and later media production (to be discussed in detail in chapter Three). According to Thapan
(2002:133), Indonesian Sindhis pioneered these businesses in Southeast Asia. In the late 2000s Sindhis started investing in property—an important change in the Sindhi
community because after Partition Sindhis were reluctant to invest in real estate. All Sindhi businesses in Indonesia, be it textile trade, banking, media production or real estate, are not bounded by the national borders but are integrated in the global economy predominantly through the global Sindhi network. As Falzon pointed out, testing oneself in different businesses and "exploring as many lines [of business] as possible in as many places as possible" (Falzon 2004:147) is a common feature of Sindhi business practices.
To be a true Sindhi it is not enough just to be in business—one has to own a business. According to my respondents 90 per cent of Sindhi businesses are family owned. The ownership of the company has the ultimate value and prestige within the community. The business, most often established by family members, usually does not outlive the second generation. As soon as one of the partners feels ready to start his own enterprise he branches out. Usually the splits happen during the most successful period of the business (Falzon 2004:224). And in most cases the new company established after the split of business occupies the same niche and becomes a serious competitor in the market. The desire to be "your own boss" makes the relationships within the community highly ambiguous: on the one hand, Sindhis are in constant competition with each other, which, as Falzon mentions, can often be described as a "zero sum game"; but, on the other hand, Sindhis collaborate with each other uniting "in the face of a 'common adversary'" (Falzon 2004:236), a competitor from outside of the
community. The feeling of "corporacy" (Falzon 2004) defines the development of the economic niches occupied by Sindhis and will be discussed in more detail in regards to
sinetron production business in chapter Four.
The ownership of a business (or better, several businesses, not necessarily related to each other) and financial success do bring respect and prestige to the
community members but only when this success is exhibited. To be socially accepted and respected in the Sindhi community it is not enough to quietly accumulate money in bank accounts and be a trustworthy business partner. One needs to constantly offer material evidence of earned profits. The demonstration of wealth is primarily aimed at the community itself, because for a Sindhi entrepreneur the community is "intrinsic for being and thinking". The community "forms the universe within which he [Sindhi businessman] grows, undergoes socialization, learns the ropes of his business,
establishes his own enterprise, hires employees, receives credit, lives as a householder and plays a culture role" (Thapan 2002:41). In other words, community is the main source of all sorts of support, be it social or financial. Constant display of wealth serves as collateral and helps attract capital in the case of financial difficulties (an inevitable part of business) or expansion of business. In general, Sindhis prefer borrowing from fellow Sindhis on short notice and avoiding formalities with banks (Thapan 2002).
It is important to underline that demonstration of commercial success is deemed by the Sindhis the main way to gain social respect and prestige within the community. Money and social prestige are inseparable entities. Money brings prestige, and an "individual's worth and prestige" is measured in money (Falzon 2004:190). Most business and social practices are guided by the need to demonstrate commercial and thus social success and prestige. For example, the recruitment system of Sindhi companies is to a great extent shaped by this need to demonstrate prestige. Sindhi companies have a long tradition of hiring fellow Sindhis to the most important positions in the company.48 While Sindhis usually justify the need to hire Sindhis to look after business operations by trust and some "special skills" that only Sindhis possess, it is mainly social prestige that stands behind the practice of allocating higher managerial positions in the company to the community members. As Markovits puts it, "what better way to display one's wealth and enhance one's prestige in such a mercantile society than to offer jobs to scions of poorer families in the community" (Markovits, 2000:235). Moreover, hiring a fellow Sindhi is a sign of the company's financial solvency because
48
For a detailed account of Sindhi business practices in the two centuries (eighteenth and nineteenth centuries) prior to Partition see Markovits (2000).
most Sindhis come from quite wealthy families, and even as employees they expect salaries that are considerably higher than the salaries of the local non-Sindhi workers.49
Along with the abovementioned business practices, financial success is exhibited through conspicuous consumption of luxury items, such as expensive
watches, handbags, jewellery, cars and even planes (!).50 In the words of my respondent, "Sindhis scan you for brands". Throwing lavish parties is another way to show success and social prestige, which then again is usually converted into material capital.
Although community members are aware of the fact that the expenditures on parties often exceed the actual income of party hosts, the parties are nevertheless considered as a rather accurate way of estimating one's prosperity and thus "one's worth". Once, when I asked a member of Sindhi community whether, according to her, sinetron production was a more profitable business than textile trading, she replied that as sinetron
producers were organising very expensive parties she assumed they were doing much better than those in textile business: "No textile trader would throw such parties" (Meera, Indonesian Sindhi, personal communication, 8 Feb. 2013). Indeed, for the past several years, the most extravagant Diwali parties in Jakarta were hosted by Raam Punjabi, "the king of soap opera". According to the attendees, the cost of Raam's parties could go beyond a couple of million US dollars. In Raam's case, it seems like his parties did, more or less, correspond to his profits—for several consecutive years Raam Punjabi was mentioned among the 150 richest people in Indonesia.51
Sindhi wedding parties are a competition in opulence. Many of my respondents complained that weddings can take up to several days because each family tries to outdo the other in wedding extravaganza. Five-star hotels of Jakarta and Bali are the most common venues for the Sindhi weddings, with the richest members organising wedding celebrations in other countries covering transportation and accommodation expenses of
49
For example, in 2013 an Indonesian shopkeeper assistant would get around US$200, while a Sindhi would ask for at least US$1000.
50
The promo video of MD Entertainment, owned by the Indonesian Sindhi, Manoj Punjabi, starts with the shot when Manoj steps out of his private jet. The video can be viewed on the MD Entertainment corporate website: www.mdentertainment.net (last accessed 20 Apr. 2016).
51 "Dafter Orang Indonesia Terkaya," Indonesian Company News,
https://indonesiacompanynews.wordpress.com/daftar-150-orang-terkaya-di-indonesia-versi- globe-asia/ (last accessed 16 Jan. 2016).
their guests. Most weddings are arranged in accordance with Indian tradition as it gives more opportunity to exhibit one's opulence. Wedding attire, accessories, decorations as well as dowries are purchased in India. In some cases, Sindhis invite Bollywood stars to attend wedding receptions or other important events like birthdays or wedding
anniversaries. For example, Manoj Punjabi, another successful media producer, invited Shah Rukh Khan for his 40th anniversary.
Charity activities also serve the goal of showing off one's worth to other community members, and as a result most donations of Sindhis go to India, and more specifically Bombay, "a city of Sindhi patronage... [and] investment" (Falzon 2004:96). In Jakarta most charity flows into the renovation of temples. For Sindhi businessmen charity is an investment of sorts: donations are not triggered only by the cause but also by the need to demonstrate family wealth. HS Dillon, the only Indonesian of Indian (Sikh) descent who established himself as a prominent politician and in 2013 was Presidential special envoy for Poverty Alleviation, expressed his worry about the behaviour of Sindhis in Indonesia:
Sindhis have these decadent weddings spending a lot of money on themselves in order to outdo each other in lavishness...and yet they have to come up with the foundation to help the poor. I told them and I repeated it: look at the Chinese— they have a lot of money but at least they are trying to do something like Sampoerna foundation.52 You Indians just make money. (HS Dillon, personal communication, 16 Apr. 2013)
Of course, there are exceptions. For example, PT Rapi Films (henceforth Rapi Films), one of the oldest production houses, provides free eye surgery for the Jakartan poor and distributes help during frequent floods. Many Sindhi women, including the wife of Raam Punjabi, Raakhee, are active members of women's charity organisations that work with orphanages and disadvantaged communities. Since 2013 the new management of Miss India Indonesia beauty pageant (an event that until 2007 had a strictly entertaining function in Sindhi community) made it a point to contribute to the Indonesian
52 Sampoerna Foundation, or Putera Sampoerna Foundation, is a social business institution for
corporate social responsibility programs. It was founded in 2001 by one of the richest Indonesians of Chinese descent, Putera Sampoerna.
community by collaborating with Indonesian NGOs, which help poor communities in rural Indonesia.